Cory McCants, the DJ of healthy foods, serving up tasty beets and other juice selections at Ashker's on Main. (Andrew Galarneau/Buffalo News)

Moreover, the restaurant will serve as a center for education, with room for cooking or nutrition classes and a library that encourages customers to grow their own food. Seeds and seedlings will be for sale.

Selection of local vegetables and recipe ingredients at Ashker's on Main. (Andrew Galarneau/Buffalo News)

There will also be a spot to sell local produce, some prepped for easier meal-making. They'll be offered with recipe cards with suggested dishes using the ingredient, Ashker said, following the restaurant's mission of empowerment and education.

A collection of books on gardening and nature, and seeds for sale, at Ashker's on Main. (Andrew Galarneau/Buffalo News)

"We'll have beans and rice, everything you need to make a complete meal here." Plus it will aim to be affordable and draw in everyone from the community, he said.

The restaurant, across the street from Willoughby Insurance, has been three years in the making, Ashker said. "It's taken us a lot longer than we thought," he said. "But the way it's coming out is great, so we're glad."

Ashker's on Main's hours are 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for now. Weekends will be special events before dinner service is started "in the near future," Ashker said.

The clean modern interior at Ashker's on Main, which was a deteriorating former corner store until Sinatra and Company and Askher got to work. (Andrew Galarneau/Buffalo News)